


Ups And Downs

by badly_knitted



Category: FAKE (Manga)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Drama, Established Relationship, Fights, Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:28:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28897395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badly_knitted/pseuds/badly_knitted
Summary: Ryo sits at home worrying after getting into a fight with Dee at work.
Relationships: Dee Laytner/Randy "Ryo" MacLean
Kudos: 4





	Ups And Downs

**Author's Note:**

> Written using the tw100 prompt ‘Mend’.
> 
> **Setting:** After Vol. 7.

Ryo sighed, putting in a final few stitches before fastening off the thread and cutting it. He wished he could mend everything that went wrong in his life as easily as he could repair his foster son’s torn shirt but there were some things that couldn’t be fixed with a needle and thread.

He and Dee had gotten into a fight at work earlier after Dee had snuck up behind him in the file room and groped his ass. Ryo had been startled because he hadn’t heard Dee enter the room, and angry because one of the civilian clerks had been down there when he’d arrived to check a few details on a past case. He hadn’t been aware that she’d left while he was trying to locate the file he needed. So he’d ripped into Dee about being irresponsible, unprofessional, and behaving inappropriately at work, and Dee had accused him of being uptight and a tease, among other things.

They’d barely spoken to each other for the rest of their shift, so it was a good thing there’d only been a little over an hour left before they were due to clock off for the day. Dee hadn’t even said goodnight; as soon as it was quitting time he’d just clocked himself out and left without so much as a backward glance, no doubt still seething over their fight.

Now that he’d cooled off Ryo was regretting getting so angry and wished he could apologise, only he didn’t dare phone his lover in case Dee hung up on him; he didn’t think he could stand that. What if this time he’d finally pushed Dee too far? What if this time their relationship couldn’t be mended?

He knew his relatively low sex drive made Dee frustrated, and so did his reluctance to have sex when Bikky was home, even if the boy was in bed, asleep, but they’d only been together for three months. Ryo was still adjusting to being in a relationship with a man, and all that entailed. He didn’t mean to be the cold fish Dee had accused him of being, he wanted to be as warm, spontaneous, and passionate as Dee, he simply didn’t know how. What could he do to fix things, to fix himself and be the kind of partner, and lover, that Dee deserved?

As he cleared away his sewing things his gloomy thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. He answered it to find Dee standing there with a sheepish expression on his face, and a bunch of flowers clutched in his hand.

“Hey. Before ya slam the door in my face, which you have every right to do after the way I acted, please just listen for a moment. I wanted to say I’m sorry for bein’ such a jerk earlier, and I didn’t mean what I said. I guess I was surprised you were so mad at me and I just reacted. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m an idiot. I didn’t think things through.”

“It’s not all your fault, Dee. I should apologise too, for overreacting the way I did. I was just scared we might get caught, plus you scared me; I didn’t even know you were there until you grabbed my butt.”

“Yeah, I figured that out a little too late; you’d think I’d know by now it’s not a good idea to sneak up on ya.”

Ryo smiled wryly. “Guess we both still have a few things to learn. How’s your arm?” Upon being grabbed unexpectedly, Ryo’s self-defence training had kicked in; he’d put his partner in an arm lock and slammed him face first into the filing cabinets so hard that if they hadn’t been against the wall they might have toppled over.

“My arm’s fine. My ego’s a little bruised but I’ll survive.”

“I’m really sorry about that, I didn’t mean to hurt you, it was automatic.”

“Hey, no big deal.” Dee grinned suddenly. “Least I know ya can take care of yourself, not that I didn’t know that already. Seriously, you gotta teach me that move. Could come in handy someday.”

“Maybe.” Ryo stepped back from the door. “D’you want to come in? I was about to make coffee.”

“Thanks, babe; coffee sounds good. And these are for you.” Dee thrust the flowers at his lover. “Sort of a peace offering.”

“They’re lovely; I’ll put them in water while the coffee’s brewing. Thank you.”

Dee shut the door behind him, kicked his shoes off, and followed Ryo into the kitchen. “We’re gonna be okay, babe. You know that, right? There’s gonna be times we screw up, we’ll have our share of fights and misunderstandings, and there’ll probably be days we get on each other’s nerves; relationships are like that. Nobody’s perfect all the time, but what we’ve got is solid, built to last. We can handle the ups and downs, and whatever life throws at us, long as we don’t give up on each other.”

Ryo smiled, finally relaxing, knowing that Dee was right. “Yes, we can. I love you. Dee.”

“I love you too, babe, and I always will, no matter what. That’s a promise.”

The End


End file.
